Ethanol Blend
Ahead of Cry Baby Fest, Ethanol Blend’s Jack Stokes chats about the band’s stand-out shows, the mid-coast sound and running a record label.
It’s always a good time when Ethanol Blend playsa festival. What should we expect from your Cry Baby Fest set?
Expect the unexpected. Expect Zack, our drummer, to beback from Italy. Expect a bit of gaolhouse rock. We’re just happy to be a part of it!You’ve been jamming together since 2019. What was your first gig like?
Wicked. It was for Field Good Festival. It was actually how we came to a band name! The original one was Slippery Sloth and the Ethanol Blend. The Ethanol Blend thing was just for us to be able to wear petrol suits when we played. Then, we realised it’s a really long name... so we just became Ethanol Blend. Do you have any gigs that stand out the most?
Two, but at different ends of the spectrum. We opened for Skegss at the Thebby Theatre. You could’ve played a violin to the crowd, and they would’ve gone nuts. I was on a cloud for days after that. At the other end, we played in Newcastle at The Ori. We played to about four people and the PA kept cutting out, but it was one of the funnest gigs we’ve ever played!You co-run mid-coast label Daybed Records, which Ethanol Blend is signed to. How did Daybed start?
I started it because I was a bit over having to promote [my] own music. I tried to create a bit of an entity that could represent the promotional side of things instead of it coming from the artist. A lot of bands I love do that, you have full control over what you’re doing creatively. Then I got Tom [Redden] involved because he’s a go-getter and much better at emails than me. It’s taken its own sort of thing ever since! The scene down south is special in itself. Tell us more about the sound and bands from there.
There used to be a beer garden in Port Noarlunga called the Frangipani Beer Garden. It was like the Wollongong of Adelaide – a regional spot where bands like Grinspoon and Spiderbait would come and play after being in the city in the ’90s... mostly punk bands. There’d be 300 or 400 people at the pub on a Saturday night. All those people still live here, they’re keen to catch gigs, they’ve had kids and they’re introducing them to albumsYounger bands like The 745 are now cutting their teeth in the mid-coast. Do you think their punk sensibilities have been passed down by their parents?
I think so! And I think punk is a sick genre to get into when you’re young because it’s quite easy to pick up an instrument and make it work. That’s what it’s all about. I feel so inspired by bands like The 745 who’re doing it when they’re so young.How do you hope to see the Adelaide and mid-coast scene grow?
I would love to see everyone unite for one big local festival. That would be great. You could get 30 bands to play one big day, or everyone could play at different skateparks. I have a couple of ideas! What’s next for Ethanol Blend musically?
We’ve got a new album in the works! We’re doing a West Coast tour over December in Streaky and Elliston. And then we’re playing up on the East Coast in February! 
